Many colleges, high schools and other educational facilities have installed Wi-Fi and/or other wireless systems, including a large number of access points, to allow students to wirelessly access a school computer network and/or the Internet from their classrooms, dorms or other sites on campus. Some schools, including many colleges, require students to purchase laptops or other wireless devices for accessing the school network.
While in colleges, laptop computers with wireless capabilities may be common for students, even students who don't normally carry a laptop computer routinely carry a cell phone with wireless network capabilities.
While students often use their cell phones and/or other devices to obtain general information about their school or to access particular school systems, teachers are still left in many cases with the task of manually tracking class attendance, manually accepting test results of tests taken during class, and collecting work assignments which were due to be submitted prior to or at the end of a particular class session.
Class attendance is of particular concern, along with test result submission which is to occur during a class session. This is because both class attendance and test results can significantly affect a student's ability to obtain credit for a class. Furthermore, to receive credit for class attendance and in class tests, physical presence of the student is normally required. Physical presence of the student is normally confirmed by the teacher creating the attendance record, and/or accepting the tests results. While physical involvement and tracking of attendance and/or test result submissions during a class normally requires involvement of a teacher or another school administrator it would be desirable if at least some of the attendance and/or student in class submission functions could be automated, and implemented in and electronic form. This should occur without necessarily losing the ability to confirm that the submission transpired during class, and that the student was physically present to make the submission or receive attendance credit.